studio-gameOn

Apologies for the tardiness with which this blog was produced, the programming team fell asleep the moment the CD was burnt Friday 5:30pm, and have only just woken up.  While the final three days of studio game-on are a blur of complex code, b-grade western music and cartoon cowboys, I’ll sort the facts from the fog and give this ambitious venture the sound-off it deserves.

On both Wednesday and Thursday, Alex and I spent the entire day attempting to fix every bug and incorporate every feature that was essential for the game.  Both nights saw us working well into the midnight hours, only to return the following mornings for more.  Christina joined us on Thursday as well and was more than ready for the long haul.  Even as 1:00am Friday loomed, she was keen to work through every possible bug on the final “must fix” list before heading home.  A lot was accomplished … we were very focused with nothing to distract us, particularly at night, and we worked very well as a team, providing support and encouragement with each fix knocked off that to-do list.  Josh also came in for a couple of hours each night after his co-op placement stint, and assisted Alex with a couple of crucial fixes.  The producer, Rory, and designer/audio guy, Pixel, also made their presences felt Thursday night with valuable contributions towards the menu system and game audio respectively.

And finally, after the massive shifts the days/nights before, Alex, Christina and I were back by 9:00 am, ready for that one final charge, our last chance, to have the game completed to a satisfactory standard, for burning by 5:30 that afternoon.

While Christina and I struck at the most serious remaining bugs, Alex and Rory began making the great merge, putting all game content and levels into the final game package.   Even at that late stage, some additions to the game were suggested … and, unless they required seconds to implement, were flatly rejected by the programmers … it was far too little too late.  Christina and I tested and polished up each level one last time, then passed it through the production pipeline to Alex, who again tested, tweaked and compiled the very final build for each, which was then passed on to Rory.  By late afternoon, the final level was ready, and for the first time since this event commenced, we could only sit back and watch.

At almost exactly 5:30 in the afternoon, 7 solid weeks of very hard work came to a conclusion, as Rory went to burn the first B-Grade: Spaghetti Western CD.

While this was a momentous occasion for the studio, for the entire team, the programmers simply sat back down, and surrendered to the mental exhaustion.  I largely just felt numb, and judging by the look on Alex’s and Christina’s weary faces, I guess that’s what they felt too.  There were no cameras up there, capturing the experience, and most of the studio team had departed for the celebrations … it was over, but for me at least, it didn’t really hit me.

When we finally went down stairs to the Glass House (from the Animation studio in which we had endeavoured), the noise alone was enough to indicate that the party had began.  Many people associated with the studio organization, Truna, Lubi, Ruth Christie, the honoured industry board, as well as studio members family’s and friends (including Josh who’d recently arrived from his placement) were mingling.  Several computers were set up for everyone to playtest the game … the programmers honestly had zero interest in playing at the time though … both Alex and I had been dreaming recently that we were in the studio, trawling through code, fixing and testing stunty … and beside, the music was driving us crazy.

We mingled for a while, receiving great encouragement (and business cards ) from the industry board team (who insisted we sign their copies of the game) and went through the presentation.  We were frequently told we had done an outstanding job, and that we looked exhausted.  But Alex, Christina and I soon said our goodbyes and departed, though Josh stayed longer.

Retrospectively, I am quite happy with the final product.  I think it was Duncan and Marco from 3-Blokes Studios who said that, as programmers, we are unlikely to be as satisfied as others, since we see every minute increment.  But from their perspective, and that of others who weren’t so close to the code, they see improvements in leaps and bounds with each build.  We were always going to be pushing to make this a bug-free game that satisfied every design spec, but we came THAT CLOSE that even some of my honestly critical friends, whose opinions I hold in high regard, praised the game.  Of the final product, I am quite proud to have been involved.

Regarding the studio event, and some of the empty feeling upon it’s completion Friday night, I would put some down to fatigue, but I think the fact that the team is no more … in the end, I can honestly say that I really did enjoy working with this team.  I hope to work a lot more with Alex, as we share a couple of common subjects next year and he has proven himself to be extremely talented and dedicated.  Josh will still be on co-op placement, but I look forward to seeing him during semester as well.  I hope the placement works out really well for him.  As for Christina, she’ll be leaving for her home in Indonesia, and I wish her all the best as her studies are now complete, and she’ll be looking for work there.  To all three of you, my friends, it has been a pleasure to work with you.

And on behalf of the programmers, I would like to once again thank Sheryl and Rory for all their support and encouragement.  Their vital efforts frequently go unthanked but are constantly appreciated.  Thanks also to the other team members, who gave their all for seven weeks to see this game developed to a very respectable standard … you are all very talented.  Special thanks also to the Industry board, Adrian, Duncan, Marco and John, who stood by us, guided us, motivated us, and took a genuine interest in this project that made it all the more rewarding for us.  Thanks to Keith Novak, whose photograpic talents I hold in very high regard, your discreet, artistic documentation of this event is one of the highlights of this project.  And finally, Ruth Christie, Lubi, and Truna, who put in a massive effort to organise this awesome opportunity and make it as  rewarding as it was.  Truna, towards the end of Semester 1, last year, when you first asked if there might be interest in a special opportunity like this … you exceeded all expectations!  Thank you very much!

Thanks all!

Colin

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 3:49 am and is filed under Development Blog, Programming Team. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.